We had ourselves a little pre fourth of July shindig with each other Thursday night, a hot and muggy night in Bangor. We met at Blaze, where our Happy Hour dates all began. We arrived plenty of time to snag the happy hour deals, but when our checks arrived none of the discounts were applied. The bartenders were great and it was a quick fix, but this is the second experience that we have had in which we had to correct our happy hour deals. There was about a $12 difference. I'd like to see more consistency, especially if they want to maintain the buzz and draw in a crowd. It wasn't very busy, and the restaurant was too hot to feel comfortable. But in all fairness, they do have that wood fired oven cranking out some serious heat. I snagged a half a dozen oysters, and Amy sampled a couple of the stuffed options. She said she was partial to the plain oysters. I haven't really found a signature cocktail on their list that I love. I think the raw menu is my favorite part. I'll probably only go in from time to time for my oyster fix.
We scooted up the street to Nocturnem for a quick beer on the patio. They have 4 picnic tables behind the bar outside, and they are long. The few times that I have visited this summer I've shared a table with strangers. It's pretty cool to be able to meet people from around the city. You realize what a small world it is.
We decided to make one more stop. Really wanted to check out Fiddlehead, but they were closed for the week to clean and enjoy some vacation. I haven't eaten here in a few years but we're determined to go before summer is over.
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| Watermelon Margarita |
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| Amy looking lovely at 11 Central |
We skipped back down to central street, where the Outdoor Market and Cool Sounds concert series was happening, as it does every Thursday. There are vendors, live music and the street is completely shut down for a few hours. 11 Central opened some tables out into the street and had a limited drink and food menu. We split a really yummy spinach and artichoke dip served with fresh bread and each had a Watermelon Margarita. The street was going to be opening back up to traffic so we had just enough time to finish our drink and scamper off.
At this point we were feeling pretty adventurous so we decided to grab my hula hoops from the car and hoop in Pickering square. In addition to our love of food, we are also crazy about hula hoops. Check out my hoop page on Facebook for more on that...
So...it's getting late into the night, we're both sweaty from hooping..full from food and drinking...and just when you think we're going to call it a night, we decide to scope out the new hookah bar that Herbal Tea and Tobacco opened. I'm so glad we did!
Okay, honest confession: I have always dreamed of opening a hookah bar in this area. When I was underage and in my first year at Orono, I visited Portland with some friends from the area. They took me to the Purple Caterpillar on a rainy Friday night. It was so busy we had to wait for a couch spot. I had so much fun and I thought that it would be a great spot for underage kids to socialize.
The lounge itself is really beautiful. Exposed brick, comfy couches. You order at the bar and pick your flavor of shisha. It takes about 10 minutes to get it fired up and rolling. So we found a couch to chill on. The funny thing was, we shared our table at Nocturnem with the girl working. We sat and smoked for what seemed like an hour or more, so we felt like we got our moneys worth for sure. It's $10 a person or $20 for up to four people I believe. Next time I go (because I will be back!) I want to have at least 4. It was pretty intense for my body to smoke that much I think. But it was so much fun. We were blowing smoke rings and bubbles. The music was on. We eventually finished up the night and headed home.
Stay tuned for more adventures! Cheers Bangor!
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